To start programming with ASP, you will need two things. The .Net Framework and the visual Web developer 2008. Fortunately both of them are available free for download from microsoft website
http://www.asp.net/downloads/essential/ .

The .NET Framework 3.5

The Microsoft .NET Framework is a component of the Windows operating system. It provides the foundation for next-generation applications, including ASP.NET web applications. The latest
version is 3.5. The new features added in version 3.5 is

i. ASP.NET AJAX: With ASP.NET AJAX, developers can quickly create pages with sophisticated, responsive user interfaces and more efficient client-server communication by simply adding a
few server controls to their pages. Previously an extension to the ASP.NET runtime, ASP.NET AJAX is now built into the platform and makes the complicated task of building cross-platform,
standards based AJAX applications easy.

ii. New ListView and DataPager Controls

iii. LINQ and other .NET Framework 3.5 Improvements

The Visual Web Developer 2008

Visual Web Developer 2008 Express Edition is an easy to use and easy to learn program that allows everyone, from the novice to the professional developer, to create ASP.NET web sites.

Visual Studio 2008 has incorporated a new Web designer that uses the design engine from Expression Web. Moving between design and source view is faster than ever and the new split view capability
means you can edit the HTML source and simultaneously see the results on the page. Support for style sheets in separate files has been added as well as a CSS properties pane which clarifies the
sometimes-complex hierarchy of cascading styles, so that it is easy to understand why an element looks the way it does. In addition Visual Studio 2008 has full WYSIWYG support for building and
using ASP.NET Nested Master Pages which greatly improves the ability to build a Web site with a consistent look and feel.